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Boys vs. Girls 2 Prelude
|next= }} Boys vs. Girls 2 Prelude is a novel set in the D.I.T. Literary Universe. It is set before the events of and after those of and it focuses on the lives of Charles, Steven Thompson, and Summer Petersen. It also features the Battle of Orem from Helen McKeen's perspective in full detail. It was released on August 16, 2019. The book features Charles as protagonist, Luke Norris as deuteragonist, Steven Thompson and Rose Johannson as tritagonists, Helen McKeen, Summer Petersen, and Valiera Nelson as quarternary characters, Natalia Thornton as antagonist, Miranda Patrick as secondary antagonist, Beion and Nicholas Phee as tertiary antagonists, and Cera Lewis and Mr. Phee as quarternary antagonists. Summary Adolescents Charles and Steven Thompson butt heads when they are both seeking the women they love. Meanwhile, the evil Natalia Thornton and Beion lead the Cavaliers in an all-out assault against Helen McKeen and the Armies of Organa for supremacy of the Earth. Meanwhile, Summer Petersen is facing her own battle, one of the mind, heart, and soul...one of which she may not survive. Synopsis The beginning The book opens when Charles is riding the bus to Tower Placement School for the first day of his Senior year. He enters the building intending to seek out his best friend Luke Norris and school crush Valiera Nelson, and encounters her, Chris, and Miranda Patrick, which prompts Nelson to run for it. During lunch, Charles encounters Patrick, only to be flicked off. Returning home after school, Charles finally finds Norris, awkwardly informing him of the day's events. Meanwhile, the Armies of Organa prepare to battle Natalia Thornton. Summer Petersen asks Steven Thompson if it will really come to war, but Thompson says it feels as it did before. We then learn that Charles takes General Financial Lit during fifth period, with Patrick, who ignores him when he introduces himself and politely questions her for her earlier behavior. On Friday afternoon, he sees Dustin bullying a girl named Rose Johannson who is with Norris and a boy named Carl Alex. After Dustin leaves, they also meet Jamie and Wesley Denkenberger. That night, Charles demands Norris text him so they can discuss a huge mistake he recently made. On Tuesday, Norris reveals that Nelson yelled and swore at him and blocked him, all without provocation. Two days later, Charles realizes Nelson is angry with him for speaking with Patrick or trying to get a boy named Ray Eliott in trouble, threatening to hurt him if this continues. Homework Shortly after Labor Day, Charles also meets Valiera's younger brother, Nicholas Nelson. In the mix, he speaks with his counselor about Valiera, and they agree that as he had promised to give her space, he should keep his word until a meeting they hope to schedule for the beginning of October. Three days later, he and Summer Petersen attend a special class session, but then he overhears Petersen telling Steven Thompson that she may be spirited from Provo against her wishes and forced into hiding. Shortly afterwards, he encounters Nelson again when he meets up with his friends, surprising her that they know the same people. On September 17, Charles and Rose Johannson agree to meet together at his house so he can help her with her homework, only for her father Jeff to say no. The following morning, he goes with Johannson and three of their friends to get food from a gas station. He goes to the Counseling Office again, where he and his counselor decide not to hold the meeting with Nelson until she is more polite. To verify, he is given a homework assignment — to record all of the times they meet and return to the office when he has three examples concocted. Throughout the week, he successfully carries out the task. On September 27, Charles concocts two more examples and attends a second special session mandatory for Senior students, during which time he foolishly tries to keep Nelson company, making her and Patrick (whom she has been unhealthily clinging to since before the start of the book) furious. Shortly afterwards, he learns that Nelson refused to meet with him. Three twists of fate Charles meets Valiera's brother Nicholas again on October 6 when he requested that Charles' mother, Leah, pick him up from his apartment, as he is friends with Charles' stepbrother, Nicholas Phee, son of his stepfather, known as Mr Phee. He also meets the playful and petite Saul Nelson, and they proceed to eat out at . He eventually deduces that Nicholas is Valiera's brother and that Valiera has been "emancipated" depending on one's point of view. After Leah drives him home, Charles tells his parents of the exciting coincidence. He enthusiastically greets Nicholas a few days later. On October 12, Carl Alex mysteriously appears again, looking for Rose Johannson. His distrust of her, whilst previously faint, increases when Alex reveals that Johannson is ghosting him and dating a Lesbian named Madeline. On Friday, Charles asks Ray Eliott what had become of Carl, but when he is rude, student Hebe tells him that Alex has run away from home, which Luke Norris later confirms. On October 18, Charles and his family begin Fall Break by partying and eating chili in the evening. He also goes to the playground with Norris. During the second meeting of the Gay-Straight Alliance, which he had begun attending recently, Charles acquires a door prize — a free ticket to the school dance that is to be held in a week. Charles ultimately decides to invite Valiera, posting a proposition on Instagram and waiting for Nelson to find it. While he waits, he goes to a place called Rush with his family, including his half brother, which he enjoys. Skirmish in Provo On November 1, Charles goes to a seemingly deserted playground, sits down, and contacts Luke Norris. They talk about how they had spent Halloween — Charles went trick or treating with a small girl named Carolyn and a couple of high schoolers, while Norris went with his sister Christina. Valiera shows up in response to being tagged and demands that he leave her alone, and she threatens to get cops involved. Charles realizes something is wrong in the playground, only to see Natalia Thornton there. Then Norris points out Quintana is acting irrational, but Charles politely asks him not to interfere. Charles uses the radiation from his cell phone to siphon the energy, thwarting Thornton's nefarious operation while he proceeds to ask Nelson how she wants their problem solved. However, after she has an emotional breakdown and tags Miranda Patrick and Will Ostler to help her verbally abuse him, he gives up and attacks Thornton outright. Josh Hogan bursts in and carts Charles to safety, at which point he tells him about Operation: Despair and the Guild of Gourds. Following this event, Charles finally acknowledges that Valiera Nelson hates him, something he no longer intends to attempt to change. Still, when he returns to school the following day, he optimistically reports Nelson's crimes of years past to school administration. Following this, the staff confront Charles for his role in the Battle of GT-2 Base and they tell him his parents have revoked his right to work independently at home. Later, Steven Thompson asks Charles for help, as he considers him an invaluable recruit and tells him the Guild of Gourds has made him aware of a rumor that Charles wanted to recruit Valiera to the Boy-Team, shocking him. On November 25, Charles posts four memes on Instagram that, to him, perfectly describe people in his life. Seeing old friends On December 5, Charles prepares to go to Tutorial. However, on the way down, he encounters Rose Johannson and two of her friends and together they find not only Carl Alex but also Valiera Nelson and Ray Eliott. During the conversation that follows, Johannson and Charles proceed to make amends and Nelson begins to complain that Miranda Patrick is giving her grief. However, she also lets slip that she lied about quitting smoking. Finally, they meet up at a door and agree to split. Hours later, he contacts Johannson on Facebook, who re-friends him. The following day, he sees the new trio again but without Rose Johannson. Alex invites him to do something secretive with him, but when the time comes, Charles learns that Alex has lied. He seeks and confronts him, agreeing to give him a second chance. Later that day, he meets Hebe, who defends Alex's inconsistency. The following morning, Charles confirms that he's interested in hanging with Johannson and in the evening, Leah drives Charles there and she meets Johannson and her parents. Johannson introduces Charles to her pets, including her cat Little Sister, which he enjoys, and they go downstairs to smoke weed with her friend Nina. They eventually go up to Johannson's room, where Johannson tells Charles about Andre, her boyfriend, and informs him that Carl's posse has a controversial regard for him, Valiera included. After they do a few leisurely activities together, Johannson asks Charles if he wants to sleep over that night, but Leah won't have it. Eventually, Johannson's parents go to and buy Charles and Johannson a treat. Finally, Charles' ride arrives. The following day, Johannson feels ill and asks Charles to come visit her, but Leah says no. On Sunday, Andre contacts Charles for reassurance that Johannson still likes him. In the evening, Charles invites both Carl Alex and Johannson over for dinner, but they both decline. On Wednesday, Charles deduces that Johannson's not sick anymore, but she surprises him the following day by saying she wants to hang out. Winter Dance On December 14, Charles asks Rose Johannson if she wants to come over to his house. She hesitates, but Leah refuses yet again. Three hours later, he asks her to Winter Dance as friends, which she considers (as Valiera's rebuttal and Natalia's attempt on his life prevented him from attending the last dance). The next day, at noon, Johannson says yes. When Charles arrives at her house with flowers, he introduces her to his entire family and they take off to Tower Placement to meet up with Charles' science-class entourage. They enjoy themselves for a while, but Johannson suddenly calls Carl Alex by snatching Charles' phone and harassing him, the first real foreshadowing of her adult self in ''The Return of the Verasect''. Alex defends his actions and yells at Johannson until she cries and he proceeds to go on the run. Charles takes his phone back and everyone goes to , where Charles comforts Johannson. The next day, she asks him to bring her food, to which he suggests she cook some eggs. On December 18, he defends Carl Alex to Leah, considering Alex to be less likely to hurt him. Winter Break On December 20, Charles assembles presents for several of his friends and ultimately gets most of them delivered. December 21 is the day of the winter solstice, something Charles' family takes very seriously. Johannson asks Charles if he wants to hang out and upon accepting, he offers to bring macaroni cheese to cook. Despite Leah taking forever, they make it to her house, but Little Sister injures Charles' hand. Then Charles is picked up by his friend Christina, and they go to the and to purchase Christmas gifts for family members. Charles proceeds to meditate upon the winter solstice. Late at night on December 23, he brings Johannson the gift, at which point he promises himself friends come before family with all having been considered. However, things take a turn for the worst when a few days later, Leah pulls Charles aside right before dinner and tells him that she has a restraining order set between him and Johannson, and between him and Alex. Battle of Orem Much to Charles' surprise, he was contacted by Steven Thompson on January 14, who implored him to come to Masculine Quarters and join the Battle of Orem. However, Charles told him he could not afford to sneak out a third time, leaving Thompson disheartened. However, as soon as he hung up Norris told him to "go get them", to which Charles expressed confusion. Norris eventually convinced him to go and accompanied him. The two teenagers arrived at Masculine Quarters about halfway through the battle. Rose Johannson joins Thornton, despite Charles' and Andre's protests. Together, they resolved to finally confront Natalia Thornton in order to buy the Armies of Organa time to escape. Norris helped him scale the command tower and as he dangled from a wire, he called up to Thornton and began taunting her. She ignores him, but Charles continues provoking her until she accepts his challenge. Thornton orders the two remaining C-Cars to shoot him down, but Charles leaps out of the way and the artillery aimed for him hits the command tower, destroying it. Thornton swoops down to to face the teenager, who continues mocking her whilst dodging her attacks, not offering a counterattack. Charles sees Luke Norris driving towards him and leaps onto his ship so he can leave with the others. Charles was once again implored to join the Armies of Organa and obtain a high rank because of his cunning and overall intelligence. However, he was aware that Valiera Nelson was a Cavalier and believed that by joining the Cavaliers' worst enemies, he was making an enemy of Nelson, which he simply refused to do under any circumstances. Returning to Provo Apparently, Charles began going to therapy. On January 24, he ran into Rose Johannson, who called his name and hugged him tightly. Assuring her that he could not care less that she was a Cavalier, Charles returned the passionate embrace. She asked why they had no contact and he said that legally speaking, they weren't supposed to talk because Leah had placed a restraining order on her. Johannson suggested that they meet in secret over the weekend, but this apparently did not happen. By this point, Charles' relationship with Nicholas had become far more strained, as Nicholas was more consistently attempting to hurt Charles' pride deliberately, and make cruel jokes about Val Quintana, causing Charles to lose his empathy for Nicholas entirely. Despite this, he still tried to help him mend his relationship with his girlfriend, Allie, but they reportedly broke up by Valentine's Day because Allie's mother had enforced it. Departure of Steven Thompson When their family went to an arcade, Charles played and won second place on the scoreboard, pleasing him. Prior to the game, he realized two small children could not be accompanied in the arena by their father because there were only twenty-four players, not twenty-five. Realizing this, he spent most of the session flanking them or targeting his half brother. At some point after the game, Nick went so far as to spitefully claim that Val Quintana was disliked by nearly everyone, considering Charles moronic just for thinking otherwise, and has said that her friends only remain her friends because they feared doing otherwise, the sole exceptions being Charles due to his perceived stupidity and Nicholas due to his perceived zealotry. Unfazed since Nick had spitefully lied about people he disliked in the past, Charles dryly joked that she had the personality type only a genius could love, making Nick angry and Thompson amused. The next time Thompson calls Charles, he claims he saw Nelson entering a room when he was half awake, half unconscious. Reparation Eventually, Charles and Valiera Nelson finally begin to get along at long last. They also agree that due to several factors they don't have to be with Thompson or Thornton, as Nelson fears the Cavaliers of Thornton are doomed. He begins doing everything in his power to prove he's a good boyfriend for her. However, Valiera doesn't always act grateful for it, though sometimes she actually does. Both Charles' morale and schooling seem to improve with Nelson's approval. On March 11, he has a strange dream about her that his cousin Scott is involved in, which he tells Thompson about, to which he merely replies, "Kinky." On March 19, Leah has a change of heart regarding Rose Johannson, and surprised Charles and his brothers by picking her up when they prepared to eat out. As they drove to the restaurant, they discussed what both of them had been doing, and upon entering, Leah went to use the restroom. While she was gone, Charles revealed that he and Quintana were finally together. This cheered up Johannson, who tearfully revealed that she had broken up with Andre. When Leah returned, they discussed it for a long time, with Charles doing his best to comfort her. He also learned that Carl Alex had broken up with Kayliah Galibraith. Leah surprised Charles by purchasing him and the others ice cream, but not ordering any herself. On the way home, they decided to pursue a happier subject before Charles walked Johannson inside. Shortly afterwards, Charles got on Facebook and learned, to his shock, that Johannson was allegedly pregnant. Knowing of her intense sentiment towards Andre, and also of her sense of humor, and the fact that Val Quintana had pretended to be pregnant with a watermelon, Charles was very confused on whether to believe her. On March 28, he had another dream about Val Quintana, in which they were shopping alone, at a grocery store named , and they agreed they had moved on from their pasts and therefore, were free. Curiously, they were with Leah, Nicholas, Charles' half brother, and Nicholas Nelson. When Charles woke, his confidence was bolstered that this dream would come true, as he and Quintana were already friends. On March 31, Charles hung out at Valiera Nelson's house and they ate dinner together. Quintana served small portions of "dry" wine, though she was alarmed when Charles enjoyed it. Charles is relieved that Will Ostler is not there. At some point before this, he brought Nelson to his house and she met his parents. End of an old program On April 3, Charles went to therapy in the afternoon. In the evening, he went to a dinner for an old program's closing night, and Leah suggested he invite Johannson to join them. He excitedly texted her, but when she did not respond, Leah called her on the phone. They set out in the car, where Leah said they would drive to her house unless she failed to answer. At the last minute, she said she was at a skate park, disappointing Charles. Nearly three minutes later, however, she told Leah how to find it, shocking them both. Charles listened to Johannson give Leah directions and they arrived at the park. Charles left the car, greeted her, and met her friend she had been conversing with. On the way, Johannson put the rumors about her pregnancy to rest by saying she had no idea, and Charles shocked her by being one of the only individuals who immediately believed her when she confessed it wasn't truly a joke or a truthful claim. He also told her her navel piercing, which she had just barely gotten, was beautiful. When they arrived at the complex where the dinner party was being held, Charles introduced her to his old friends and beckoned she go first since she was female. Johannson didn't care, and when Leah went in front of her Charles ended up being third in the group to retrieve his meal. They listened to a final speech about the ending of the program and Charles shared some memes with Johannson, who spent a lot of time texting other individuals. Johannson told Leah she was craving ice cream and they arranged to go to Smith's and purchase some. Before they left, Charles assured Johannson that he did not despise Andre at all. While they were at the grocery store, Charles saw Rose Johannson ask if she could try a piece of shrimp from the deli, and the woman kindly allowed her to. He got a piece from her as well and the group began checking out different types of ice cream. The play-dough flavor caught Johannson's eye, something Charles agreed should be purchased, even though Nicholas was disgusted by the idea. Afterwards, Johannson visited Charles' house for the first time, where the ice cream was served. Charles and Leah introduced Johannson to the family's pet bunnies. They ate their ice cream, but Charles clumsily dropped his and ended up retrieving it with a paper towel. He also pointed snarkily to the roll of paper towels Johannson was nearly staring at when she asked for their whereabouts. Despite this, he did show her around. Johannson asked if they could take her home at once and Leah agreed. Charles accompanied them and walked Johannson inside, where she shocked him by telling him that her grandmother was threatening to kick them out of their home. Val Quintana's revelation On April 9, Charles and Leah go to Wendy's with Valiera Nelson. Johannson joins them as a third wheel. Upon returning home with take-out, Nelson tells of Charlie Corner, a hugely mutated avatar of a solar body that is in league with Natalia Thornton. Johannson also flirts with Nicholas Phee, but eventually relents as he doesn't like her back, and they look at memes and feed Mr. Phee's pet goose. Charles and Leah drive them both home, where Charles learns Johannson will be moving away in several months. Charles and Nelson also share an awkward moment of affection. Meeting Crystal On April 12, Charles asks if Valiera can come over, but Leah says he should invite Johannson to the movies. Johannson says yes and asks if she can bring her friend Crystal over. The following afternoon, Charles is introduced to Crystal, but he can't tell why he recognizes her. They enjoy the movie and go their separate ways late at night. On Sunday evening, Rose Johannson and Crystal come over for dinner, even though Leah refuses to eat out. Suddenly, Johannson learns a friend of hers is contemplating suicide and Charles, Leah, and Crystal all offer their assistance. However, Johannson is confident she and Crystal can handle the situation alone. They drive them to Johannson's house, where Crystal gives Charles her phone number. On April 17, Valiera Nelson warns Charles that she might be was moving to Arizona. Maintaining contact Charles has, for the last two months, been helping Valiera open up. By the beginning of May, they have completely fixed their relationship and have since become close friends. On May 23, Val Quintana returns to Provo from Salt Lake City to go swimming with Charles, after getting his permission to bring Will Ostler along. While they are in the hot tub, Valiera reveals she has a more pressing motive for her return, as she intends to warn Charles that the Cavaliers of Thornton know about the ambush planned by the Armies of Organa at Tower Placement School, and that she intends to compensate Natalia Thornton by working more closely with her for the remainder of the war. Infiltration of GT-3 Base The following day, Charles takes part in the Infiltration of GT-3 Base. He has a personal motive for going, as he needs information about several things. He learns Valiera is pregnant, among other things that shock him. Together, the Boy-Team obtains valuable information and escapes hordes of Cavalier forces. Ending Charles would become of age less than two weeks after the Cavaliers' defeat. For his birthday, he invites several people, including Nicholas Nelson and Christina. To his surprise, Nicholas agreed to come and gave him ten dollars of birthday money, citing that it is impossible to know what people his age liked as far as materialism was concerned. His family picked him up and they departed with several other individuals. After the movie ended, they went to the park. To Charles' surprise, the entire Nelson family arrived from in a corner, including Valiera Nelson. He learned that she arranged to go on a road trip to Wyoming with her friends. He noticed that she spent most of the party isolating either on her phone or in conversation with Lauren, looking uncomfortable when Charles sat by her before warming up to it. Leah asked Charles to introduce her, so he did, and Nelson said she was glad they were acquainted. Charles tells her that he and Miranda Patrick have parted on neutral terms. He confesses to Steven and Vincent that he had realized the real purpose of the Boy-Team and Girl-Team after witnessing the Cavaliers' liberation from Natalia Thornton's curse. This emotional revelation, coupled with Valiera's indifference to whom he joins and Luke Norris' commitment to the Armies of Organa, finally compels him to openly join the organization until he finds his own living quarters the following year. He and Luke then share a moment together as they watch Valiera's siblings on the playground equipment, and they agree everything is working out. First Post-Script In a scene foreshadowing The X-Adults: Endgame: The New Order, Master Intelligence, Hardy, and Titanium Girl are discussing rumors that the Greek God Zeus was seen in person during a religious celebration, when a mysterious black-haired girl known only as "the Ruby Eidolon" turns up and demands to know where Eegan Grover is. In a second scene, Steven Thompson comes to visit the Petersen Estate and lovingly embraces Summer Petersen, and they sleep together, albeit with clothes on. In a third scene, Charles per Steven Thompson's orders contacts Ken and is challenged to a duel. In response, Charles takes Valiera Nelson and Arcus to arrest him. Gallery Charles.jpg|Charles Luke Headshot BVG2P.jpg|Luke Norris Helen shock wave.png|Helen tapping into her new powers. Boys-vs-Girls-2-prelude-Helen.png|Helen at her house during the Second School War. Valnovember.png|"Back up real quickly on that bulls**t!" Valiera and friends.png|"This picture was taken twenty minutes after we almost died." Rose Crystal.jpg|Rose Johannson (right) and Crystal (left) Behind the scenes This novel, unlike others in the D.I.T. Literary Universe, is based on a true story, as it is taken hugely from D. Isaac Thomas, the author's, real experiences in twelfth grade in 2018 and 2019. For instance, Charles is based loosely on Thomas himself, Luke Norris is based on Tyson, Rose Johannson is based on Emily, Valiera Nelson is based on Nikki, Carl Alex is based on Kelly, and Crystal is based on Destiny, and many others have a real person they are loosely based on as well. All five of the aforementioned people were Thomas' peers in twelfth grade. In December of 2018, the synopsis of the novel was revealed, along with the existence of Rose Johannson, among others, leading many to suspect she and "Nurse Rose" were the same character, which ultimately turned out to be true. On the other hand, Crystal's reappearance was kept a complete secret until the novel was released on August 16, 2019. Regards Crystal's appearance in Prelude, D. Isaac Thomas explained that he debated with a friend of his about introducing her earlier in the book or hold onto her introduction later, ultimately choosing the latter option because he felt that due to Crystal's antagonism towards Rose Johannson, it was more effective for her not be introduced earlier as it could have given away too soon that Johannson was not what she seemed. D. Isaac Thomas has confirmed that all of the main characters in this book are supposed to represent one of the Ten Virtues of Buddhism, or Pāramitā: #''Dāna pāramī '': generosity, giving of oneself - Helen McKeen #''Sīla pāramī '': virtue, morality, proper conduct - Steven Thompson #''Nekkhamma pāramī '': renunciation - Miranda Patrick #''Paññā pāramī '': transcendental wisdom, insight, discernment - Carl Alex #''Viriya pāramī '': energy, diligence, vigor, effort - Val Quintana #''Khanti pāramī '': patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance - Rose Johannson #''Sacca pāramī '': truthfulness, honesty - Josh Hogan #''Adhiṭṭhāna pāramī '': determination, resolution - Charles #''Mettā pāramī '': goodwill, friendliness, loving-kindness - Luke Norris #''Upekkhā pāramī '': equanimity, serenity - Summer Petersen Inconsistencies There are a small handful of inconsistencies in the book that do not line up with previous installments of the D.I.T. Literary Universe: *Steven Thompson tells Charles that he wants him to "join the Boy-Team", despite the fact that according to the original three books, he already worked for the Boy-Team part time, having fought in the Battle of GT-2 Base and, in Prelude, trying to recruit Valiera Nelson and taking orders from Vincent Organa. **Although, it could just be Thompson's annoyance that made him use the word "join the Boy-Team" in order to show his contempt that he feels Charles isn't doing enough. *To become a nurse, Rose Johannson would have had to go to medical school first. However, it is established in Prelude that she frequently missed parts of school, especially junior high, and rarely went to school at all during the Second School War, which would have made her fall short by a longshot of the expectations to get into medical school to begin with, so her prequel story arc defeats its purpose by contradicting her original story in The Super Babies. **It is possible that Johannson pulled herself together after 2013 and repeated several years of school and getting her high school degree to begin medical school long after most of her peers graduated. *Crystal is in attendance at Tower Placement School. According to a conversation between Crystal and Master Intelligence in The X-Children: Where Are You Now?, she is sixteen years of age. However, she is shown here going to school and hanging out with a fifteen-year-old Johannson in 2013, a time when she wouldn't have been born yet, leaving the curious plothole that she may be the one friend Johannson kept since childhood and, even more dubiously, whether Crystal has somehow been sixteen for many years. Appearances Events *Search for Valiera Nelson *Battle of Orem *Cavalier Offensive *Search for Summer Petersen *Summer Petersen's fifteenth birthday *Infiltration of GT-3 Base *Charles' eighteenth birthday New characters *Carl Alex *Taylor Avery (mentioned previously) *Aspen *Charles' counselor *Charles' half brother *Chris *Crystal *Wesley Denkenberger *Ray Eliott *Jamie *Rose Johannson *Leah (mentioned previously) *Madeline *Valiera Nelson's counselor *Ann Mex *The greatest ginger *Steven Thompson's nephew *Adam Whitman Prelude